What do you want to be when you grow up?

By
Zulfiqar Ali Umrani
What do you want to be when you grow up? That is the oft-repeated question that we
hear as we grow up. Our childhood responses are always more colorful and more
interesting like chor, police, dakoo, teacher, pilot, actor etc. However, by the time we
reach the end of teens, our responses conform to the standard Engineer, Doctor or
Businessman (EDB) answers. How do our childhood wonderfully colorful choices
mutate into ubiquitous stock EDB responses? We blindly go through our educational
system without thinking about our career direction. Why do we become Pink Floyds
another brick in the wall?
From early childhood stage, the system starts molding us towards the E/D/B careers.
In 11th class we are made to select between either pre-med, pre-eng, commerce or arts
group (Now if you just look at the number of students in these groups you will see
that pre-med and pre-eng out number other groups by a large margin.). At the tender
age of sixteen a students must make such a crucial career decision as which group to
opt for. As there is no career counseling provided in high schools therefore such
difficult choices are usually made by the parents. This is especially true for girls. And
once this decision is made, it is going to stick with you for a long time. This
intermediate system passes all inspirations and fascinations through the funnel to
achieve the E/D/B set answers.
In this regard, the US educational system is much more flexible and allows space for
intellectual curiosity. In the US, a high school student can study unrestricted number
of courses. For example, a student can study, English, Math, Biology, Music, Law and
Business all together. The number and choice of the courses depends on the student.
Even in university, a student can taste different courses during his first year without
having to declare a major. Such flexibility allows a student to flirt with various
subjects and careers without making a full commitment. Our educational system is
like an arranged marriage, i.e. the choices are made by the parents. At least give a guy
a chance to check out the neighborhood!
Let me tell you the story of my life (do play Ustad Amanat Ali Khan in the
Background):
Meri Dastaan-e-hasrat wo suna suna ke roye
Mujhe azmaaney wale mujhe aazmakey roye
I had opted for pre-engineering in college therefore; I knew I would be studying
engineering at university. However, why I graduated in electronics engineering is
something else. I despised the electronics chapter in my inter physics course, so much
so that I did not even study it for the annual examinations. Nevertheless, when I had
to give my choices for university applications, electronics engineering was right at the
top. That is because my parents, relatives and family friends said, Its the electronics
era, the computer market is saturated and telecomm industry is booming. Electronics
is where the jobs are! So I did get into my 1 st Choice Electronics Engineering. It
was not so bad and I did manage to secure 3.84/4.0 CGPA at the end of it. However, I

was not passionate about electronics, but what is the point of doing something, if you
dont do it well? Even a boring book must be read till the last page!
My parents were really happy with my grades and had my future set out. Normally
they are not so generous with their money but they were willing to make an exception
for their only son. My benevolent father was willing to fund my MSc studies in UK, if
and only if, I studied Telecommunications. Deviation from the terms and conditions
of this aid package would result in suspension of all funding. The reason I am
scribbling these words from Hyderabad and not from London is that I deviated. Until
now, I was blindly led by the system. For this, I blame my generation and myself. We
are scared to make independent decisions lest we be held responsible. We are willing
to sacrifice our individuality for financial security.
However, I did not want to spend the rest of my life doing something I did not enjoy. I
stood defiant in the face of economic sanctions. Instead of buckling under the
pressure, I decided to fund my own studies in the subject I wanted, i.e. Renewable
Energy Resources. Now a poor mans only chance of securing funding for foreign
studies is scholarships and Maa ki dua. For that I had to give a couple of
standardized tests. I gave the GRE (1400/1600), TOEFL PBT (667/677) and GAT
(83/100). Emboldened with such scores, I have applied to scholarships from
Fulbright, HEC and Commonwealth. In addition, I have decided to apply to top
universities of the world, from Harvard, MIT to Cambridge. If only I can find the Rs
5000 to FedEx my documents!
It is possible that you will be wondering, what a load of BS is this? That I am just a
ranting idealist isolated from the worldly realities. The masses are starving; common
man is desperately trying to escape the economic strangulation. There is cutthroat
competition for jobs. The majority of population is fighting among themselves for the
scarce resources left to them by the acute minority. And here is this romantic novice
talking about career choices and rejecting such a wonderful UK Masters offer from
his parents. That is also what my father would say: try finding a job these days, try
surviving the harsh realities of practical life and you will forget your hanky panky
talk.
But I, well, I have been ruined for life.
First incited me to take the cup,
When I got drunk told me to stop. Hafiz
Blame classic literature for defining my morals and the sense of what is right and
wrong; blame Chomsky for exposing the truth and blame Chief Justice for redefining
Pakistan and taking a stand. I want to do something with my life that would satisfy
my guilty conscience. I do not want to be me fathers second chance. As in Bon Jovis
Its my life song, it does not matter whether I was wrong or right, at least I can say I
did it my way.